The U.S. achieves a nuclear fusion breakthrough. This time, a team of scientists from California produced repeated nuclear fusion ignition for the first time.
For the past few years, scientists and other experts across the world have been making efforts to achieve nuclear fusion. Unlike the sun, Earth doesn't have the immense gravitational force needed to confine hydrogen nuclei to achieve nuclear fusion.
However, thanks to the efforts of scientists, nuclear fusion reactions can now be achieved. Although humanity is still far from harnessing it, these achievements are still a big leap.
Now, a U.S. lab was able to repeatedly produce nuclear fusion ignition for the first time in history.
US Achieves Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough
According to Independent UK's latest report, a group of scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved fusion ignition in December 2022.
Thanks to this, they were able to produce a net energy gain from a fusion reaction for the first time. This achievement was hailed by physicists as a "moment of history."
Now, LLNL researchers claimed that they repeated nuclear fusion ignition three times this 2023. To make this possible, the U.S.-based laboratory relied on NIF (National Ignition Facility) to fire over 190 laser beams at a frozen pellet of isotopes.
This isotope pellet was held within a diamond capsule, which was suspended in a gold cylinder. Thanks to this, the reaction they acquired was very similar to the processes found within the Sun.
Aside from this, the nuclear fusion ignition also resulted in a record energy increase of almost 90%. Although the energy was just enough to boil a kettle, experts said that scaling up this proof-of-concept could lead to a new era of energy.
"I'm feeling pretty good. I think we should all be proud of the achievement," said LLNL's inertial-confinement fusion science program leader Richard Town.
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Why Nuclear Fusion is Big Deal in Achieving Clean Energy
CNN World explained that nuclear fusion is quite different from nuclear fission. The latter is the process used in the world's nuclear plants.
Nuclear fission is generated by the division of atoms, which leads to unstable nuclei. Because of this, most nuclear fission power plants are radioactive (and will remain to be for millions of years).
On the other hand, nuclear fusion doesn't generate long-lived radioactive waste, making it safer for the environment. This is why numerous countries are making drastic efforts to harness the energy that nuclear fusion can provide as the climate crisis worsens.
